Rosehead

Chapter 25. The Daring Face-Off

For a second everything stood quiet. Then stillness erupted into shrill barks, high-pitched cries, and the hungry bellows of a monster. Rosehead shook the fence, beginning what looked like the laborious task of climbing over. Mortified, Lilith held on to Ed. Ed held on to Lilith. Unsuccessful, and weighed down by her enormous belly, Rosehead passed a series of screams that caused the boy and the girl to unfreeze and head for the safety of the ground. 

Ed made it first, stretching out his arms for Lilith. Her hand slipped and she tumbled the last few feet, landing on her bottom. Ed and Panther rushed to her.

"I'm all right! I'm all right! I think." Lilith yelled over the racket. "Nothing's broken. I'll stand in a minute." She flexed her arms and legs, her heart hammering.

Rosehead made another fruitless attempt. Her enormous shape looked positively gigantic from the ground level, not to mention her eyes that spun around in search of elusive food.

Lilith scrambled to her hands and knees, and all three of them hid behind the oak's trunk.

"How do you propose we talk to her?" whispered Lilith.

"May I profess my humble opinion?" Panther interjected. "I'm quite positive that demented hedge crazies can't talk. Dogs, on the other hand—"

"Wait! She can't climb over the fence, can she?" Lilith exhaled in relief.

Ed waved his arms about, which seemed to be his universal reaction for everything, and ran off.

"Where are you going?" cried Lilith.

"No answer. All right. Thank you very much for offering me your gratitude for my tireless service." Panther made as if to stalk off, but there was nowhere to stalk off without exposing himself, so he resolved to turning his back to her.

"Panther Bloom Junior, would you stop it? Now's not the time."

Ed returned with a large stick, holding it up victoriously.

"What's that for?"

He made a few vigorous poking motions. Then a few more. And a few more. Lilith reached out to stop him.

"Okay. I understand. What if she decides to poke us back? You know, with one of her sharp fingers?"

Ed grunted as he energetically swung the stick about as a mighty warrior might to prepare for the battle of his life. The stick caught on the oak tree and flew out of his hand.

Lilith sighed. "Listen, you can talk, I know you can. Just say it. I won't tell anyone. Panther won't either. Right, Panther?"

No response.

Ed picked up the stick and aimed it in such a way that could be interpreted as an adamant wish to beat himself up.

Rosehead's howling subsided to angry rustles. She stomped about rhythmically, cracking twigs in her way.

"Oh, please. Don't tell me she likes to dance. Here." Lilith dug into her bag and produced a journal and a pen.

Ed set to work.

Lilith took out The Hound of the Baskervilles, cracked it open and pointed blindly. She read aloud. "Nor can it be denied that many of the family have been unhappy in their deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, and mysterious." Her insides twisted. "She'll eat us. She's getting ready to eat us. Panther, did you hear that?"

The whippet didn't move, as if pretending to be a stump.

Ed flipped the journal around for Lilith to read. YOU'RE RIGHT. LOOKS LIKE SHE CAN'T GET OUT OF THE GARDEN. BEHIND THE FENCE WE'RE SAFE. WE'LL TALK TO HER FROM HERE. IF SHE DOES ANYTHING STUPID, PANTHER WILL DISTRACT HER. SHE DOESN'T SEEM TO LIKE DOGS. He stuck the journal under the dog's nose.